The Elephant in the Lab
by LivandElforlife
Summary: Booth and Brennan tried going their separate ways but what happens when that fails? Will a traumatic event pull them together or push them even further apart? R


**A/N: If you were to tell me months ago, whenever the last time I published something on this site, that I would be writing a fanfiction story on Bones I would have laughed right at you. No way, Olivia and Elliot forever! But here I am writing this story that now seems so right and like it's been begging to be written. I hope I have not lost any readers because of this story and I hope you still continue to read this one. I am still the same writer; it is only the characters that have changed.**

Temperance Brennan groaned as the alarm clock beeped aggressively at her. It was 5, time to start yoga before she went off on another day of solving murders. She found that yoga helped her think more clearly and although she did not buy into many fads that average society did, this one seemed to work. Half-way through her normally hour long routine her phone buzzed from its place on the mantle and she sighed as she released the pose and stood slowly, in no rush to find out who was interrupting her. As she walked over to the mantle to retrieve her phone she knew exactly who it would be: Booth.

"Brennan," She sighed, still frustrated from being interrupted so early in the day.

"Ah Bones, nice to see you up so early," He grinned into the phone, knowing morning was her least favorite time of the day. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, a good book, a nice chess match perhaps."

"What is it, Booth?"

"We have a case. Unidentified body found in the woods about thirty miles away by some boy scouts." He informed her as he weaved in and out of traffic towards her apartment. "I'm on my way to get you now. How long will you be?"

"Approximately forty-five minutes."

"Forty-five minutes? Jeez Bones, we're seeing a dead body not meeting the President."

"Well you should have called earlier if you wanted me to be ready sooner," She said as she went into the bathroom and got a towel. "I'll be down when I finish."

Booth sighed as he closed the phone and pulled into a space a few feet from her apartment. He leaned all the way back in his seat and turned the radio up, tapping to the beat. Before long he had fallen asleep, despite the cup of coffee he had an hour earlier. He awoke with a start to the sound of the car door slamming and leaned forward accidently hitting the horn, startling the people walking by. "What are you doing?"

He cleared his throat and shook the sleep from his head. "Sleeping, Bones. You see it's this thing humans need to do every once and a while."

"I know what sleep is. I meant why you are sleeping in the car."

"I don't know. I guess the coffee didn't kick in for me," He replied as he put the car in drive. "Ready to go see some bones, Bones?"

XOXOXO

"You see, this is why I was never a boy scout," Booth claimed as he fought through the branches and bugs.

"You mean because of your hatred of the outdoors or because of the likelihood of finding human remains?" Bones questioned as she crouched over the remains. "Male, late thirties, maybe early forties. The marks on the left clavicle suggest stabbing perhaps with a round, cylinder-like object."

"Like a can?"

"No, smaller. Think more straw-like," Bones clarified as she stood and ordered the remains be shipped back to the Jeffersonian.

As they walked back to the car Booth looked Bones up and down as she walked in front of him. He shook his head thinking about how close he came to having her as he sped up to walk beside her. "What do you say to a coffee break?"

Brennan turned her head to look at him, "It's only seven and didn't you already have a cup of coffee today?"

"And I also fell asleep in the car waiting for you," Booth retorted. "Come on, the body's not going to go anywhere."

Brennan resigned and sat back in the seat, secretly watching him the whole drive. She admired his confidence and the way he could convince anyone of anything, even though his logic was clearly flawed. She smiled thinking back to the kiss they shared under the mistletoe and how everything then seemed so simple, so easy. "What are you smiling at, Bones?"

She turned her head and saw him watching her as they sat at a red light. She shook her head, "Uh, I was thinking about this article I was reading yesterday about recent findings in the Sahara Desert. They seem to be very promising in the understanding of the development of beluga whales."

"Beluga whales? That doesn't sound like your area of expertise." Booth grinned.

"So? It's a phenomenal scientific discovery and I'm a scientist. Just because it's not something I would be interested in being a part of doesn't mean I can't appreciate the significance of the find."

Booth just nodded, not having anything to say back. She was right as always. "So, how is life, Bones?"

Booth knew he was grasping at straws and that Bones would see right through him but he did not care. It had been over a year since the day she told him she was not ready for a relationship with him. He had been on several dates and tried as hard as he could to get over the woman who was now seated beside him. He always compared his dates to her. They were too flirty, too delicate, too something. He had done quite a good job convincing everyone they worked with that he was beyond it. All the countless dates did the talking for him, but not enough to raise an alarm for Sweets who would accuse him of over-dating and see through his façade. Now he was busy trying to work their relationship back to where it was all those months ago, to where it almost went that fateful night.

"Fine," She answered curtly. "How's your life? How's Parker?"

"My life is good. Parker is great. He just turned ten. That's a big age for a boy, you know?" Booth unconsciously gripped the steering wheel as he talked about his son growing older, a topic he neither wanted to talk about nor confront.

"Why?"

"Well, uh, it's just that there's a lot of responsibility being ten. He's going to be starting middle school and there's going to be dances and girls and lots of school work," Booth rambled as he tried to explain.

"So it's like a coming of age thing?"

"Exactly. Exactly like a coming of age thing, Bones." He grinned as he pulled into a parking space and turned the car off. He saw her reach for her seatbelt but stopped her, placing his hand over hers. "Don't worry, I'll get it for you. Black, two sugars, right?"

Bones, entirely aware of the heat radiating from his hand which had yet to move from hers, nodded. As his hand moved from hers she sighed, releasing the breath she did not know she was holding. She moved her hand to her lap, secretly longing for the warmth of his hand. She leaned her head back and sighed again. She should not be feeling like this, this was her partner. She needed to remain objective; it was the only way she was going to be able to get through this case.

Just as she was bringing herself back to reality, Booth opened the door and handed her the coffee and a bag. "I bought you a muffin too. I wasn't sure if you had eaten this morning or not."

Bones smiled as she looking in the bag and found her favorite, a banana nut muffin, sitting at the bottom. "Thanks. I didn't eat this morning."

Bones could hardly wait until the car was turned on to begin eating her muffin. Booth chuckled as he pulled into traffic. "Jeez Bones, don't forget to chew."

Bones shot him a look but smiled, "Thanks for the advice, Seeley."

Booth cringed at the use of his first name. Whenever she used it, it normally meant trouble for him but today it was playful and he couldn't help but chuckle. Today was going to be a long day.

**A/N: Review Review Review ! !**


End file.
